Lynxa of Opar, Daughter of La

Lynxa, by Styles by Danielle, is the gown for Miss Benin in the EOE 2012 competition. When I got the group notice about it, I had to get this and model it. Appropriately for my story, Benin is in the West Africa region which was home to Tarzan as he grew to manhood.

The woman stood on the mansion’s wooden balcony and looked out upon the dawning day. The sky to the east burned with orange light, which would soon lighten to yellow as the Sun rose over the horizon to welcome the spinning planet Earth to another twenty-four hours of time.

Lynxa, daughter of La, heir to the title of High Priestess of Opar, smiled slightly in satisfaction as she reflected again on what she had just called the bright golden disk in the sky: “the Sun.” No longer the Flaming God of her mother’s people, the men and women of the lost Atlantean city of Opar. She had abandoned that faith twelve years previously, when she had turned 21 and was faced with the choices of men she would be required to select from for a husband. None there could match, or even approach, the tales of the man whom La had always called Lynxa’s father, the man she always referred to as Tarzan of the Apes.

Lynxa had learned some years ago, on arriving in this strange land so far from her native countries, that Tarzan lived yet in the place named England, and called himself Lord Greystoke when among the men and women of that land. How surprised he would be if she appeared upon his door and announced herself for what she was! Little did the Lord of the Jungle know that, on one of his occasional visits to Opar, her mother had persuaded him to rest, and then used a potion upon him still known by the women of Opar from the science of their Atlantean ancestors. He had fallen unconscious upon the couch on which he sat during his meal; and then La had anointed him with another philtre. It was not needed, after all, for a man to be conscious to get a woman pregnant, if one knew how to achieve the result….

La had hoped to bring fresh blood into the rapidly disappearing people of Opar with her single child. As it worked out, though, Lynxa had grown rebellious and determined to have her own way in what she did with her life, just as La had desired the man she could never take away from Jane Porter, Tarzan’s beloved. Lynxa was far more successful than her mother had been; she had been watched and guarded as she grew, but no guard was ever vigilant enough to keep her from obtaining what she desired. As she reached adulthood, she whispered to those of her servants she felt she could trust; and one dark night, they had stolen away through secret passages in the walls of the palace and temple. They had stolen other things as well; greatly daring, knowing that wealth would be needed despite the weight it would put on their shoulders, they had managed to leave with enough treasure from the vaults of Opar to keep Lynxa comfortable for some time – and had returned secretly, once established in a different region of West Africa, better equipped for bearing more out. The carriers from this second expedition were killed by the guards Lynxa had hired to fend off the men of Opar – and then the guards themselves had, one and all, succumbed to a specially prepared meal on the evening of their arrival on the coast. No tongues would wag on the source of the gold and jewels she eventually deposited with a French banker in Monte Carlo, and then forwarded on to an even more secure and discreet banker in Bern. That way, should she ever need to make another “withdrawal” from the treasuries of Opar, it would still be there.

That had been twelve years before, in 1912. Despite the intervening war, Lynxa’s fortune had grown, through shrewd investments, to six times what she had left Africa with. So had her knowledge of the wider world; she had obtained instruction in the history and culture of Europe, and could speak the major languages with great fluency, almost colloquially. Her business affairs extended across the entire continent, even stretching toward America in some areas – though not all of those affairs were what would be considered legal by the authorities. The resulting income allowed her and her household to live in a style which was only appropriate for the daughter of La of Opar and her retainers.

The luxury and color of this gown deserve a suitably rich adornment. Beyond the flower that comes with the gown’s hat, I chose the suite of jewels that are sold alongside the gown. Additional rings seem appropriate for someone from an African culture; and I added the extra-long nails as an additional symbol that my character is not of the common clay, above the mundane tasks of life.

Here she was now, looking out over a forest and the ruins of a nearby castle from Austrian times, preparing for the demands of the day. When down in the streets of Bern, or her other house in Zurich, she dressed with all the beauty of the finest couturiers of Paris; but here at home, she much preferred to don adaptations of African garb. The luxury of the fabrics, of course, was far above anything found in the streets of Kinshasa or Lagos; after all, she could afford it – and also, after all, she was of a ruling family. Even the servants who had accompanied her, and still treated her with the deference of the office she had spurned, could dress richly, though not as grandly as Lynxa chose.

The sun was well up now, and she sat to table for her breakfast. As she completed the meal, a maid appeared with a calling card upon a salver; plucking it up with her nails, she read its content and raised her fine brows in surprise: “John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, Epping, Essex.” Stepping back to the windows, she glanced down in the courtyard, and saw a tall, powerfully built man with a wild mane of black hair and sun-bronzed skin, standing beside an expensive Rolls Royce touring car. He was looking speculatively at the front of the house with piercing blue eyes; if he had any thoughts beyond curiosity on his mind, they weren’t visible on his handsome face.

Now what in the hell was he doing here…?

My makeup choice is also themed around gold, and with extra mesh lashes with glitter to give the final kick to the ensemble.

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